U.S. lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday that was meant to reform the commercial maritime and shipbuilding sectors and allow the country to better compete with China. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), Representative John Garamendi (D-Calif.), and Representative Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) introduced the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act.
The lawmakers warned that after decades of neglect, the U.S. faces a greatly weakened shipbuilding capacity while the commercial fleet is dwarfed by China. There are only around 80 U.S.-flagged ships currently engaged in international commerce, while Beijing has more than 5,500 Chinese-flagged vessels.
In addition, U.S. shipyards continue to struggle to produce oceangoing vessels at scale, while there remains increasing demand for “qualified mariners.”
The SHIPS for America Act is meant to revitalize the U.S. Merchant Marine to transport vital goods and military cargo during times of conflict, while also reinforcing American supply chains in peacetime.
“We’ve always been a maritime nation, but the truth is we’ve lost ground to China, who now dominates international shipping and can build merchant and military ships much more quickly than we can,” said Sen. Kelly, a U.S. Navy veteran and the first U.S Merchant Marine Academy graduate to serve in Congress.
“For far too long, the United States neglected our maritime industries and the critical role they play in our national and economic security – this ends with the SHIPS for America Act,” said Rep. Garamendi.
He has spent more than a decade working to revitalize the U.S. maritime industry to strengthen the national economy, create good-paying American jobs, and support national security during peacetime or war.
“This bill represents the most substantial and comprehensive approach to have America compete and lead globally,” he added. “Today, less than 200 oceangoing ships fly the American flag, the SHIPS for America Act will empower our shipyards and marine merchants to uphold our country’s status as a leader in the maritime industry.”
SHIPS For America Act – Key Points
The act – which has bipartisan support, is the first major piece of maritime reform since the Merchant Marine Act of 1970.
SHIPS For America calls for greater coordination of U.S. maritime policy by establishing the position of Maritime Security Advisor within the White House, while also creating a Maritime Security Trust Fund that would reinvest duties and fees paid by the maritime industry into maritime security programs and infrastructure supporting maritime commerce.
It would further set a goal of expanding the U.S.-flag international fleet by 250 ships in 10 years by creating the Strategic Commercial Fleet Program and enhancing the competitiveness of U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce by establishing a Rulemaking Committee on Commercial Maritime Regulations and Standards.
The act would further seek to expand the U.S. shipyard industrial base for both military and commercial oceangoing vessels.
“One of the reasons the SHIPS act received such enthusiastic support from experts is because the commercial ship industry shortcomings in the U.S. are having a real economic impact,” explained geopolitical analyst Irina Tsukerman, president of Scarab Rising.
“China’s commercial ship superiority is giving it unparalleled trade access, challenging U.S. stature as an economic superpower, and giving it soft and smart power reach around the world, and particularly in areas of Global South U.S. cannot prioritize due to a lack of resources,” Tsukerman told ClearanceJobs.
Global Situation is Making a Problem Worse
Tsukerman further emphasized that the situation is exacerbated by the attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
“The Houthis in 2024 alone made $4 billion in profit as a result of these attacks and acts of piracy, jointly with Somali pirates in some cases, which create a deterrence to U.S. commercial ships passing through the area, and incentivize ships to register in other countries, especially in Russia, China, and India,” the Scarab Rising analyst added.
Russian and Chinese ships largely avoided this stigma due to their diplomatic arrangements with Houthis and its backers in Iran. That has resulted in a loss of profit for the US shipping industry, and the loss of prestige and cohesion among the Western ship-flagging carte.
More ships are gravitating elsewhere and more clients turning to Russia, China, or other non-U.S. flagged ships for their oil and gas deliveries, which is a major loss of profit especially as insurance rates in the shipping industry have also skyrocketed as a result of these attacks and passing through a war zone.
“However, the SHIPS Act is a floor, not a ceiling to restoring U.S. commercial and other maritime dominance,” Tsukerman suggested. “The recent shipbuilding disasters show that structural bureaucratic problems could present a significant challenge even to the minimal framework for new ship creation, and this bill’s demands are from sufficient to bridge the commercial gap with the 5000 Chinese vessels, much less overtake it.”
Additionally, the recruitment and training of new mariners could take years, while China continues to expand its force, given that being part of the commercial sector competing with the U.S. there is a matter of national prestige.
“Moreover, none of these measures address the severe hindrances to U.S. maritime dominance in the military sector,” Tsukerman continued. “So there is also a dire need for a companion focused on addressing the military shortages and overhauling the systemic bureaucratic infrastructure limitations that have become part of the seemingly permanent baggage weighing down the U.S. Navy.”
